Have you ever heard of WhatsApp? Maybe your kid is already one of its 700 Million active users. WhatsApp has been around for a while, but we can see that exchanging WhatsApp contact information has become a huge trend on social media. WhatsApp is the new SMS, but is opposite to a text message totally free of charge. Sounds like it is too good to be true, right? We made some research to find out what every parent would want to know about it.

What is it?
WhatsApp is a mobile messenger that allows you to communicate with all your contacts on your device for free. Users can send unlimited images, video and text and also create group chats.

How does it work?
You need a valid phone number as your username. Then it is easy to start chatting with all your contacts the same way you would with the SMS application on your phone. You only need your contacts to have downloaded WhatsApp, and then you can send them all the messages, pictures and videos you want – but for free. No passwords or usernames are required, instead you verify by using your phone number.

So, what do you need to know as a parent?

1. Giving out WhatsApp is giving out private information!

We here at watAgame can clearly see that children very easily share their WhatsApp contact information on social media services like Momio and goSupermodel. “Do you have WhatsApp?”, “Do you wanna join my group on WhatsApp?” and “I can only send you pictures on WhatsApp, can I have your number?” are only some examples of questions we see in the chats. In order to use WhatsApp you need the other person’s phone number. And a phone number is not something you normally share to anyone – it is private information. Children tend to forget that WhatsApp is private and should also be treated as private information!

2. Your kid should be 16+ years old to use it!

Despite of its age limit of 16, lots of children use WhatsApp. The children that use our social media platform Momio and ask for WhatsApp are clearly below 16. But why should they be 16+ to use WhatsApp? The Net Nanny blog – also featured in New York Times and the Herald Tribune – explains why WhatsApp is so appealing to teens and children. Users can easily set up new chat groups, find and add new friends. But it also makes everything more secretive. Who is your child chatting with? What is being said? Are pictures being sent? Clearly WhatsApp wants to protect children from this kind of exposure to content, people or situations they are not emotionally prepared for. The following excerpt from the WhatsApp terms of service confirms this: “…and no part of the WhatsApp Service is directed to or intended to be used by persons under 16” .

3. It’s easy share your location and contacts with others!

It is clear that many teens and grown-ups use WhatsApp. According to a study the typical WhatsApp user is between 18-44 years (average 36 years old). You can easily share all your contacts but also your location. In our opinion this is a safety concern when used by children. Do you want some stranger to know the location of your child? Do you want your child’s contacts spread to other WhatsApp users? We assume the answer is no. We know it is possible to hide your location, but we are not so sure that children think about this.

4. On WhatsApp you are connected 24/7

WhatsApp is not something you can turn on or off as you like. It is there on your smartphone, as long as you have it installed on your device. This means that your child is connected 24/7 and might find it difficult to stop responding to and sending new messages.

Conclusion

You might be using WhatsApp yourself and you think it is great. Fair enough! WhatsApp is worldwide the biggest mobile messenger and it is a fantastic service – and it’s completely free! But if you have any concerns about the listed issues in this article, you should probably make sure your child becomes a teenager before using WhatsApp. In the meantime let them use social media that is made for kids. And last but not least, don’t forget to discuss these concerns with your child next time they want to use WhatsApp. Because in the end, it is not about the number 16, it is about being aware of the risks – also for your kid.

We collected some key information about WhatsApp, SMS and Momio into a table. Have a look!

About the author:

Sara Eichenauer, Momio

Sara Eichenauer worked as a German Community Manager from 2008 to 2015. She worked with online communities in Sweden and Germany for several years. Sara has three kids and is convinced that social media for kids is the best environment to teach our children about online behavior and safety in a fun and monitored way. She has a master’s degree in marketing.

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Danish parents, it is your lucky day! A new guide called There’s so much parents don’t understand has been released today. It is absolutely free and it is packed with information, inspiration and tips on how to make sure your kids get a safe start to their online life. It’s especially targeted at parents with children aged from 7 to 12 years – but parents with younger or older children will also find it helpful.

watAgame has been a part of the work group that created the guide. watAgame has contributed with the knowledge and experience gathered within more than nine years working with social media for children.

The guide has been created by Medierådet for Børn og Unge, Center for Digital Pædagogik and Red Barnet together with Legetøjsbranchen LEG, LEGO® Koncernen, Microsoft, MovieStarPlanet, Stofa/SE, TDC, Teleindustrien, Telenor, teleselskabet 3, Telia and, as mentioned, watAgame. The project is supported by EU Kommissionen and The Animation Workshop.

Silja Nielsen, Momio

Silja Nielsen is Head of Community and Safety at Momio. She has worked at the company since 2010. Silja has a master’s degree in Media Studies and is interested in privacy, online behaviour and online communities.

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Instant gratification is a complex phrase that simply means wanting something, and wanting it RIGHT NOW. It’s not all negative – it’s okay to want and need things, but especially parents have to be extra careful if they come across such situations. We live in the age of the internet where we get and expect feedback almost instantaneously: we respond to our mails, tweets and texts only seconds after we get them; we can post videos, photos and messages as soon as we make them and also expect an immediate response from our followers and friends. There is little room for patience, especially when so many things constantly fight for our attention.

The best representation of this idea was conducted by the Stanford University as a test for children. It’s called “The Marshmallow Experiment” (and it’s adorable in its own way): children can eat one marshmallow now, or wait a bit and get two. The temptation to just eat the one NOW proved too hard to resist for some of them, but surprisingly a few managed to hold off and were rewarded.

Recently in Poland, one of the more prominent publishing houses released a series of children’s bedtime stories. The catch? It takes three minutes or less to get through one story and, as the publisher states: “because of the wonderfully colourful pictures, kids won’t get bored during reading.” But why would they be? Were we bored by H.C. Andersen’s or Brothers Grimm’ fairytales? Or do today’s kids get just that easily distracted?

We notice this on our social media, too. When we post a competition or make an announcement, we try to make the texts as concise as possible, because we often see that the longer posts aren’t read till the end. Momio for example is a vibrant place, so holding our users’ attention can be tricky with so many things happening! We also often get support mails with questions beginning with: “How to quickly get diamonds, because I want to buy a dog now”. Or we receive three or four emails from the same person in the span of 30 minutes with the exact same question. They want the answer immediately and get frustrated when they don’t. And who can blame them? Usually, everything goes exactly as they want, and if it doesn’t, they don’t bother with it.

What can we take out of it? That it’s hard work for both us and the kids! We try to reward our more patient and levelheaded users. For example, we only choose competition winners among participants who have followed the instructions. We do hope that it will spread and more kids learn that being patient and not hurrying might actually mean getting more in return. We hope that this behaviour is also encouraged outside the internet. After all, we don’t want to end up being like Dug from Pixar’s Up, right?

About the author:

Diana Cereniewicz, Momio

Diana Cereniewicz is a Polish Community Manager. She started working for us in June 2015 when Momio was launched in Poland. She has a master’s degree in English literature and language, and dabbles in translation and interpretation as well. She also does diverse online content creation and moderation.